If you’re looking for an unlocked iPhone 4 you basically have three options for obtaining one. First off, you can buy one that has been unlocked at the factory. In this case, however, it will most likely be more expensive than buying the phone in its normally locked configuration.
When you buy cell phones made by Apple in North America or most of Europe, they are usually purchased in the locked mode. Apple locks them specifically for profit reasons and, whether or not you agree with the idea of their profit motive, if you’ve like most, you don’t like being “locked out” of your own personal property. Few do.
SERVICE PROVIDERS
In the U.S., if you buy an iPhone 4 it comes locked in to one specific cell service provider – AT&T. If you want to switch to another carrier, say T Mobile for example, your phone will first have to be unlocked. Unlocking cell phones is a cottage industry. There are thousands of providers for cell phone unlocking services, whether they actually do the job or provide instructions for you to do it yourself. It’s not tough at all (if you obtain the right unlocking instructions).
If the phone is purchased in the U.K. or in India, chances are it will be tied in with Vodaphone or O2. These cell phone providers, in turn, subsidize the cost of the phone, sometimes cutting the price in half or more. The customer, for his or her part of the deal, is then expected to make a commitment to use this particular cellular provider’s services for a certain number of months or years.
There are several countries, however, where the laws don’t allow companies to sell ‘locked’ cell phones or to tie a customer up into an agreement with a choice of only one single service provider. Hong Kong, New Zealand, Australia and Singapore are a few examples. An unlocked iPhone 4 is the only version they sell in those countries, due to government regulations. Buying an unlocked cell phone isn’t just easy, it’s automatic.
You can also get an unlocked iPhone 4 that’s been unlocked, though not at the factory, before being sold. U.S. laws are still a little hazy in this area. Although it’s been well established that it’s legal for me to unlock my phone, the jury’s still out as to whether it’s okay for someone else to do it for me. Unlocking cell phones is still a gray area. And things continue to change rapidly.